BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES

KEY FACTS

Israel is the world's 3rd largest ($) exporter of dates worth $151 million in 2014.

The UK is Israel's 3rd largest market for dates worth $23 million in 2014 (10,000 tons).

60% of the world's Medjool dates are produced in Israel (2013).

60% of Israeli dates are grown on illegal settlement plantations in the Jordan Valley (2014).

If you buy a Medjool date, there’s a strong possibility that it is from an illegal settlement - grown on stolen land.

Boycott Israeli Dates leaflet (front)

SETTLEMENTS

Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land have been ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice. Nearly half of the settlements in the Jordan Valley grow dates, it's their most profitable crop, and contributes significantly to their economic viability. 80% of settlement dates are exported, making up some 40% of all dates exported from Israel. If you oppose the settlements then target their dates.

Palestinian child working in illegal Israeli settlement.
Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced
to take their children out of school and hand them over
to the settlers to work for a pittance
(source: Channel4 news 7 July 2008)

EXPLOITATION

Picking of the dates is hard work, Israeli settlers bring in low paid Palestinian labourers to do this back breaking work. During the pruning season, workers are dropped on the date palm trees by a hoisting crane at 5 in the morning, left perched on palms that soar to heights of 12 metres - a 4 storey building, left there swaying in the wind for up to 8 hours without even a toilet break, with no means to come down until the crane returns at the end of the day, the workers cling to the tree with one arm and work with the other to meet their quota. If they fall behind they will lose their jobs.

CHILD LABOUR

The Israelis prefer to employ children – even issuing them official work permits, as they can climb trees faster, work for less and it’s easier to cheat and humiliate them. Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced to take their children out of school and hand them over to the settlers to work for a pittance.

GUILTY COMPANIES

Every year Israel expands its share of the global dates market - up 16% in 2011; up 23% in 2012, it surpassed Saudi Arabia to now become the world's 3rd largest exporter of dates ($ terms) after Tunisia and Iran with an export value of $151 million in 2014. After the Netherlands and France, the UK is Israel's largest market for dates worth $23 million in 2014 with nearly 10,000 tons of Israeli dates being exported to the UK.

Hadiklaim, the Israeli Date Growers Cooperative, which includes illegal settler plantations in the Jordan Valley, sells 65% of all Israeli dates. Its brand names include Jordan River, King Solomon, Tamara Barhi Dates, Desert Diamond, Rapunzel, Bomaja, Shams and Delilah. They also supply Israeli dates to supermarkets who market them under their own brand. These include Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose. Sometimes they are labelled “produced in the West Bank”, remember these are not Palestinian dates. Hadiklaim have also sold South African dates with profits going to Israel, but due to the boycott their South African partner Karsten Farms have cut ties and vowed never to partner with any Israeli entity complicit in the occupation.

Tnuvot Field (Field Produce Marketing Ltd) is Israels 3rd largest exporter of Medjool dates. Its brand names include Paradise dates, and Star dates.

READING LABEL NOT ENOUGH

Unfortunately reading the label is no longer enough as Hadiklaim admit that from 2012 they have been shipping dates from the Jordan Valley labelled 'Produce of Palestine' to Europe and Dubai. It's unclear how much of this is from Palestinian farms and how much is from illegal Israeli settlements.

An Al-Jazeera report from August 2012 interviewed an Israeli agricultural export manager in Mahola settlement, one of the illegal Israeli colonies on the West Bank where Hadiklaim sources its Medjool dates. He explained a pallet of dates boxes in his packing warehouse labelled "Palestine - Jericho" by saying that "sometimes the British object [to buying from us].. We just avoid writing 'Israel' on the boxes.. we often print special boxes at the request of the client.. sometimes they ask us to change the name of the country of origin on the boxes."

There are also reports of Palestinian ministry of economy intercepting 20 tons of Israeli settlement dates on their way to Palestinian packing houses for repackaging for export under the "Made in Palestine" label. Reporters from the Anadolu news in Sept 2014 interviewed several Palestinian merchants in Ariha involved in this nefarious activity. The collaborators admitted "We do trade in dates of the settlements, which we buy at prices that are 40 per cent lower than the market price. And in order to be able to market the dates, we clean and re-package them and choose the best in preparation for selling them in the local market, as well as the Arab and European markets" They estimate the annual volume of his seasonal sales of dates is nearly 350 tons. They use licensed companies that are registered officially. The export process takes place after the official bodies check the quality and specifications of the product, ensuring the product’s conformity with European specifications and international standards. It is then exported under the “Made in Palestine” label.

So now even the 'Made in Palestine' label is no longer a guarantee that you are not buying Israeli occupation dates! We would caution against buying any Medjool dates from the region unless they are from trusted Palestinian sources like Zaytoun or Yaffa.

Checking the label is not enough - label says Palestine - Jericho, but the dates are produced in illegal Israeli settlement of Mahola

BDS CALL

In 2005 Palestinian civil society initiated a call for people of conscience around the world to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights. The call was endorsed by over 170 Palestinian organisations representing all aspects of society including farmers.

PLEA FROM PALESTINE

Activists visiting the Palestinian village of Fasayl in the Jordan Valley discovered that villagers are slowly being forced off their land by the Israeli army for settlement expansion. The only livelihood left open to them is to work for those same Israeli settlements. These Palestinians whose land had been stolen and were forced to work for the settlements (including two children under the age of 12), in order to feed their families – they had a message for the activists, a plea for anyone who would listen – 'take action against the companies that support Israeli apartheid!' What excuse is left for us not to boycott Israel?

Help Us Distribute Boycott Israeli Dates Leaflets

Its simple - you don't need to join any groups, just get a couple of friends together, order your free leaflets and start distributing!

With Ramadan rapidly approaching we need your help to get the message out to our people - Do Not Buy Israeli Dates. We need your help to distribute 'Boycott Israeli Dates' leaflets in your Mosques, your campuses, and your communities.

Its simple - you don't need to join any organisations or facebook groups, just get a couple of friends together and order your leaflets. The leaflets are sent free of charge, just let us know how many you can distribute and we will send them.

This Ramadan don't just think of the Palestinians, but act!

Our beloved Prophet (SAW) has said "The Ummah are like one body: if the eye is in pain then the whole body is in pain..".

Today Palestine is bleeding..

Order Your Free Leaflets

Boycott Israeli Dates(A5 Leaflets)

How many do you want?

Distribution area (eg which Mosque, Campus or Town are you distributing in)

Email:

Name:

Telephone:

Delivery Address:[Sorry only UK at this stage]

Additional Notes(for example if you want a different quantity than the options shown)

COPY VERIFICATION CODE —>

Notes:

1. We are sorry, but at this time we can only deliver in the UK.

2. When leafleting please dont just leave a pile on the table in the Mosque, please make the effort to hand them out - put it in peoples hands so that there is a chance they will look at it.

3. Strictly optional, but we would love to see photos of our leaflets being given out around the country - just tweet them to us @InmindsCom with tag #BoycottIsraeliDates

Distributing on the internet

We also need your help creating awareness for the campaign on the internet, on social networking sites , etc. Included below are jpegs of the leaflet in various sizes so that you can start sharing them on your favourite websites, blogs, mailing lists, facebook and twitter.

Boycott Israeli Dates leaflet (1200px, both sides)

Boycott Israeli Dates leaflet (800px, back)

Archive of previous years campaign

KEY FACTS

Over 50% of the worlds Medjool dates are produced in Israel.

60% of Israeli dates are grown on illegal settlement plantations in the Jordan Valley.

Israeli profits from dates in 2011 = $265 million, export up by 20% in 2012.

If you buy a Medjool date, there’s a strong possibility that it is from an illegal settlement - grown on stolen land.

Palestinian child working in illegal Israeli settlement.
Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced
to take their children out of school and hand them over
to the settlers to work for a pittance
(source: Channel4 news 7 July 2008)

Settlements

Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land have been ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice. Nearly half of the settlements in the Jordan Valley grow dates, its their most profitable crop, and contributes significantly to their economic viability. If you oppose the settlements target their dates.

Exploitation

Picking of the dates is hard work, Israeli settlers bring in low payed Palestinian labourers to do this back breaking work. During the pruning season, workers are dropped on the date palm trees by a hoisting crane at 5 in the morning, left perched on palms that soar to heights of 12 metres - a 4 storey building, left there swaying in the wind for up to 8 hours without even a toilet break, with no means to come down until the crane returns at the end of the day, the workers cling to the tree with one arm and work with the other to meet their quota. If they fall behind they will lose their jobs.

Child Labour

The Israelis prefer to employ children – even issuing them official work permits, as they can climb trees faster, work for less and it’s easier to cheat and humiliate them. Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced to take their children out of school and hand them over to the settlers to work for a pittance.

Guilty Companies

After a sustained global boycott campaign Israels largest agricultural exporter Agrexco went in to liquidation in 2011.

Hadiklaim, the Israeli Date Growers Cooperative, which includes illegal settler plantations in the Jordan Valley, sells 70% of all Israeli dates. Its brand names include Jordan River, King Solomon, Tamara Barhi Dates, Desert Diamond, Rapunzel, Bomaja, Shams and Delilah. They also supply Israeli dates to supermarkets who market them under their own brand. These include Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose. Sometimes they are labelled “produced in the West Bank”, remember these are not Palestinian dates.

Hadiklaim have also sold South African dates (Kalahari, Karsten Farms) with profits still going to Israel, but due to the boycott their South African partner Karsten Farms have this year cut ties and vowed never to partner with any Israeli entity complicit in the occupation. In a letter they have assured us that Hadiklaim is no longer permitted to use their brand names Kalahari and Karsten Farms. Accordingly we have this year removed them from the boycott.

Mehadrin, Israel's largest fresh produce exporter, last year boasted of doubling their Medjoul date sales sighting strong demand in Ramadan! Their dates have brand names Premium Medjoul, Fancy Medjoul, Royal Treasure, Red Sea, and Bonbonierra. Sometimes their packaging states "Grown by Palestinian Farmers", this refers to Palestinian 'slave' labourers found on Israeli plantations.

BDS Call

In 2005 Palestinian civil society initiated a call for people of conscience around the world to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights. The call was endorsed by over 170 Palestinian organisations representing all aspects of society including farmers.

Plea From Palestine

Activists visiting the Palestinian village of Fasayl in the Jordan Valley discovered that villagers are slowly being forced off their land by the Israeli army for settlement expansion. The only livelihood left open to them is to work for Israeli settlements. The Palestinians whose land had been stolen and were forced to work for Agrexco (including 2 children under the age of 12), in order to feed their families – they had a message for the activists, a plea for anyone who would listen – take action against the companies that support Israeli apartheid. What excuse is left for us not to boycott Israel?

Order Your Free Leaflets

Boycott Israeli Dates(A5 Leaflets)

How many do you want?

Distribution area (eg which Mosque, Campus or Town are you distributing in)

Email:

Name:

Telephone:

Delivery Address:[Sorry only UK at this stage]

Additional Notes(for example if you want a different quantity than the options shown)

COPY VERIFICATION CODE —>

Archive of 2012 campaign

BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES 2012

KEY FACTS

Over 50% of the worlds Medjool dates are produced in Israel.

60% of Israeli dates are grown on illegal settlement plantations in the Jordan Valley.

Israeli profits from dates in 2011 = $265 million

If you buy a Medjool date, there’s a strong possibility that it is from an illegal settlement - grown on stolen land.

Palestinian child working in illegal Israeli settlement.
Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced
to take their children out of school and hand them over
to the settlers to work for a pittance
(source: Channel4 news 7 July 2008)

Settlements

Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land have been ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice. Nearly half of the settlements in the Jordan Valley grow dates, its their most profitable crop, and contributes significantly to their economic viability. If you oppose the settlements target their dates.

Exploitation

Picking of the dates is hard work, Israeli settlers bring in low payed Palestinian labourers to do this back breaking work. During the pruning season, workers are dropped on the date palm trees by a hoisting crane at 5 in the morning, left perched on palms that soar to heights of 12 metres - a 4 storey building, left there swaying in the wind for up to 8 hours without even a toilet break, with no means to come down until the crane returns at the end of the day, the workers cling to the tree with one arm and work with the other to meet their quota. If they fall behind they will lose their jobs.

Child Labour

The Israelis prefer to employ children – even issuing them official work permits, as they can climb trees faster, work for less and it’s easier to cheat and humiliate them. Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced to take their children out of school and hand them over to the settlers to work for a pittance.

Guilty Companies

After a sustained global boycott campaign Israels largest agricultural exporter Agrexco went in to liquidation in 2011.

Hadiklaim, the Israeli Date Growers Cooperative, which includes illegal settler plantations in the Jordan Valley, sells 70% of all Israeli dates. Its brand names include Jordan River, King Solomon, Kalahari, Karsten Farms, Tamara Barhi Dates, Desert Diamond, Rapunzel, Bomaja, Shams and Delilah. They also supply Israeli dates to supermarkets who market them under their own brand. These include Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose. Sometimes they are labelled “produced in the West Bank”, remember these are not Palestinian dates. Hadiklaim also sells South African dates (Karsten Farms), the profits still go to Israel so must be boycotted.

Mehadrin, Israel's largest fresh produce exporter, last year boasted of doubling their Medjoul date sales sighting strong demand in Ramadan! Their dates have brand names Premium Medjoul, Fancy Medjoul, Royal Treasure, Red Sea, and Bonbonierra. Sometimes their packaging states "Grown by Palestinian Farmers", this refers to Palestinian 'slave' labourers found on Israeli plantations.

BDS Call

In 2005 Palestinian civil society initiated a call for people of conscience around the world to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights. The call was endorsed by over 170 Palestinian organisations representing all aspects of society including farmers.

Plea From Palestine

Activists visiting the Palestinian village of Fasayl in the Jordan Valley discovered that villagers are slowly being forced off their land by the Israeli army for settlement expansion. The only livelihood left open to them is to work for Israeli settlements. The Palestinians whose land had been stolen and were forced to work for Agrexco (including 2 children under the age of 12), in order to feed their families – they had a message for the activists, a plea for anyone who would listen – take action against the companies that support Israeli apartheid. What excuse is left for us not to boycott Israel?

Help Us Distribute Boycott Israeli Dates Leaflets

Its simple - you don't need to join any groups, just get a couple of friends together, order your free leaflets and start distributing!

With Ramadan rapidly approaching we need your help to get the message out to our people - Do Not Buy Israeli Dates. We need your help to distribute 'Boycott Israeli Dates' leaflets in your Mosques, your campuses, and your communities.

Its simple - you don't need to join any organisations or facebook groups, just get a couple of friends together and order your leaflets. The leaflets are sent free of charge, just let us know how many you can distribute and we will send them.

This Ramadan don't just think of the Palestinians, but act!

Our beloved Prophet (SAW) has said "The Ummah are like one body: if the eye is in pain then the whole body is in pain..".

Today Palestine is bleeding..

Order Your Free Leaflets

Boycott Israeli Dates(A5 Leaflets)

How many do you want?

Distribution area (eg which Mosque, Campus or Town are you distributing in)

Email:

Name:

Telephone:

Delivery Address:[Sorry only UK at this stage]

Additional Notes(for example if you want a different quantity than the options shown)

COPY VERIFICATION CODE —>

Notes:

1. We are sorry, but at this time we can only deliver in the UK. If you live in Ireland you can obtain the leaflets from Ireland PSC.

2. When leafleting please dont just leave a pile on the table in the Mosque, please make the effort to hand them out - put it in peoples hands so that there is a chance they will look at it.

3. Strictly optional, but we would love to see photos of our leaflets being given out around the country - if we get enough response maybe we could do a map..

Distributing on the internet

We also need your help creating awareness for the campaign on the internet, on social networking sites , etc. Included below are jpegs of the leaflet in various sizes so that you can start sharing them on your favourite websites, blogs, mailing lists, facebook and twitter.

Boycott Israeli Dates 2012 leaflet (front) 800x1135

Boycott Israeli Dates 2012 leaflet (back) 800x1135

Boycott Israeli Dates 2012 leaflet (both sides) 1000x709

Boycott Israeli Dates 2012 leaflet (front) 500x709

Boycott Israeli Dates 2012 leaflet (back) 500x709

Educating Shopkeepers

When approaching shops that are selling Israel dates make sure you ask to speak to the owner - the person behind the till might just be a worker who has no say in what the shop sells. Always remember to be polite, remember you have the moral high ground so reason with them and give them a way forward without them loosing face.

Common responses from shop keepers and sample replies:

There are campaigns all year around targeting supermarkets that sell Israeli goods. There has been a picket outside M&S for over 12 years now, we are not picking on you. If you know other stores selling Israeli dates let us know and we will also speak to them. Give the storeowner a leaflet - it includes logos of all the guilty supermarkets.

2. My customers ask for it. I also sell Tunisian dates, I provide choice - the customer decides, its a free country.

These dates are grown on stolen land, Palestinian families have been thrown off their land in order to grow these dates. If these dates contributed to YOUR families suffering, YOUR children's suffering would you still sell them because customers ask for it? Is a Palestinian child worth less than YOUR child?

If your customers insist on Mejoul dates, why not order Palestinian Mejoul dates, these are now readily available in the UK from Zaytoun.org and Yaffa.co.uk.

3. Everything is Israeli, it wont make any difference to boycott israeli dates.

Following a global boycott campaign Agrexco, Israel's largest exporter of fresh produce which was half owned by the Israeli government actually went bust, our actions - ordinary people like you and me, can make a difference. The boycott helped end apartheid in South Africa and it can do the same in Palestine.

4. These dates are not Israeli, they are South African it says so on the box [ pointing to Kalahari Karsten Farms Mejoul dates box ]

Israel's Hadiklaim cooperative which includes illegal settler plantation has struck a deal with Kartsen Farms in South Africa to market its dates in Europe, in this way the Israeli date company can supply dates through out the year, even when the Israeli date season is gone. Yes, whilst the dates are South African, but the profits still go to Israel, to those illegal settlement plantations, so please boycott them.

5. I do it for the Palestinians, I know that poor Palestinians are working on those Israeli farms. At least this was they will get a little money, so they dont starve over Ramadan.

When activists went to the Jordan valley and talked to these deprived Palestinian labourers who are forced to work for the Israeli settlements for their survival, some whose children as young as 12 years old were doing backbreaking work for the Israelis, they asked them what can we do to help? The reply was swift and unequivocal - the Palestinians urged them to take actions against these settlement companies that have taken their land and abused them - they asked us to boycott them. By buying those dates you are perpetuating this settlement 'slavery'.

Sample letter to give shopkeepers

Dear Shopkeeper,

Greeting of peace,

Please spare a few minutes to read this important letter, thank you.

As a customer of yours I wish to draw your attention to something which is very dear to my heart and I am sure to many of your other customers and hopefully to yours as well, namely the plight of the Palestinian people.

For 60 years now they have lived under brutal Israeli occupation, their land stolen from them, their homes demolished and their children murdered in front of their eyes. The United Nations has condemned Israel on many, many occasions, and the International Court of Justice has ruled the Israeli settlements are illegal - built on stolen Palestinian land, and those that lived through the horror of apartheid in South Africa have described Israel as practising a much worse form of apartheid than anything they suffered under. And yet despite all this, the oppression continues, nothing changes.

So in 2005 Palestinian civil society, over a 170 organisations representing every aspect of society including farmers, teachers and labourers, issued a call asking ordinary people around the world, people on conscience like us - you and I, to help by respecting their call to boycott Israeli goods until Israel complies with international law and respects Palestinian rights.

It is in this endeavour that I humbly urge you, as your customer, please do not help oppress the Palestinians by selling Israeli goods, in particular please do not sell Israeli dates this Ramadan. Every year just before Ramadan, Israel especially targets small retailers who serve the Muslim community in to stocking its dates. The included leaflet lists which brands of dates are Israeli and should be avoided, it also includes details of the suffering Palestinians undergo in the production of these dates. This Ramadan please think of the Palestinians.

Thank you

PS As your customers, we will be frequenting your store, please do not disappoint - thank you

Archive of previous years campaigns

BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES

BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES RAMADAN CAMPAIGN - A5 LEAFLET

If you can help distribute Boycott Israeli Dates leaflets in your community please contact the Islamic Human Rights Commission on 02089040222 specifying how many leaflets you would like.

BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES: BACKGROUND

In 2004 the International Court of Justice ruled that the Israeli settlements are illegal – they are built on stolen Palestinian land. Growing dates is one of the major agricultural activities carried out by nearly half of the illegal Israeli settlements located in the Jordan Valley – it’s their most profitable crop , and contributes significantly to their economic viability.

Picking of the dates is hard work, so the Israeli settlers bring in Palestinian labourers to do this back breaking work. During the pruning season the workers are dropped on the date palm trees by a hoisting crane at 5 o’clock in the morning, left perched on palms that soar to a height of 10 or even 12 meters – the height of a three- or four-story building, left there swaying in the wind for up to 8 hours without a break and with no means to come down until the crane returns at the end of the day, the workers cling to the tree with one arm and work with the other to meet their quota. They can’t even take a break to go to the toilet. If they complain or fall behind their quota they will lose their jobs and their families will starve.

Palestinian child working in illegal Israeli settlement.
Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced
to take their children out of school and hand them over
to the settlers to work for a pittance
(source: Channel4 news 7 July 2008)

But the Israelis prefer to employ children – even issuing them official work permits, as they are quick and light, can climb trees faster, work for less and it’s easier to cheat and humiliate them. Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced to take their children out of school and hand them over to the settlers to work for a pittance.

Most of the Israeli date crop – up to 80%, is exported, mainly to Europe where it has around 10% market share. In 2005, dates were Israel’s leading fruit export.

The two major Israeli companies involved are Agrexco and Hadiklaim.

Agrexco, half owned by the Israeli government, handles 60-70% of all goods produced in the illegal Settlements. Its dates have brand names Carmel, Jordan Plains and Jordan Valley. Last September, a week before the start of Ramadan, Carmel boasted in their press release that they had managed an early crop of dates in order to meet the Ramadan demand for dates from Europe’s Muslims!

Hadiklaim sells 65 percent of the all dates produced in Israel. Its dates have brand names King Solomon and Jordan River. They also supply Israeli dates to supermarkets and retail chains who market them under their own brand names. These include Marks & Spencer's, Sainsbury's, Tesco's, and Waitrose.

Sainsburys Medjool Dates
produced in the illegal Israeli settlement
of Netiv Hagdud in the West Bank

Sometimes they are labelled “produced in the West Bank” – this just confirms they are grown in the illegal Israeli settlements.

Peace activists who visited the Palestinian village of Fasayl in the Jordan Valley last year discovered that villagers are slowly being forced off their land by the Israeli army. The only livelihood left open to them is to work for Carmel Agrexco. The activists even spoke to two Palestinian children under the age of 12 who were working for Carmel. The Palestinian workers whose land had been stolen and were forced to work for Carmel in order to feed their families – they had a message for the peace activists, a plea for anyone who would listen – they urged them to take action against Carmel Agrexco and such companies that support Israeli apartheid. What excuse is left for us not to boycott Israel? If you oppose the illegal settlements target their dates. Boycotting can make a real difference.

BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES: CAMPAIGN

Innovative Minds and the Islamic Human Rights Commission are calling on campaigners to create awareness in their communities about the boycott of Israeli goods, and in particular Israeli dates, this Ramadan.

In order to educate our communities on this issue two videos and a leaflet has been produced.

“Zaynab’s Story” explores the connection between an ordinary person living in Britain and what is happening in Palestine – how our actions as consumers in this country effects what happens to the Palestinians. It’s a heart wrenching video which exposes the brutality of the occupation as it touches the lives of ordinary people in Palestine. It then traces exactly how our buying habits help sustain this occupation, and ends by exploring ways in which we can start supporting the Palestinians. The boycott of Israeli dates forms its central theme. Its premier both in this country and overseas has been very well received. It duration is 36 minutes, and its available both as a DVD, or as a downloadable AVI for screening in a mosque, community centre or student society, and as streaming video on Youtube for personal viewing.

ZAYNAB'S STORY - A CALL TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL

“Boycott Israeli Dates” was specifically created for screening at venues with time restrictions which would not permit the screening of “Zaynab’s Story”. It duration is only 18 minutes, and concentrates solely on the boycott of Israeli dates. It is available both for downloading (hi-res AVI) or streaming (low-res Youtube).

Please help us reach the widest possible audience by making copies of the videos, DVDs and passing them to your friends, placing them on your websites, etc.

BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES

BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES A5 LEAFLET

Boycott Israeli dates leaflets can be obtained by contacting the Islamic Human Rights Commission on 02089040222. Alternatively the original PDFs used for printing the leaflets are available for download should you wish to do your own printing ( rough guide to printing cost in the UK: 10,000 leaflets £125 inc delivery ).

We have also produced a sample letter to give to local grocery shops, greengrocers, etc. that serve the Muslim community. The letter politely asks the the shopkeeper not stock Israeli dates this Ramadan. Only one letter, with perhaps 3-6 people signing it, needs to be given to each shop (along with a leaflet which identifies the brands to avoid).

Dear Shopkeeper,

Greeting of peace,

Please spare a few minutes to read this important letter, thank you.

As a customer of yours I wish to draw your attention to something which is very dear to my heart and I am sure to many of your other customers and hopefully to yours as well, namely the plight of the Palestinian people.

For 60 years now they have lived under brutal Israeli occupation, their land stolen from them, their homes demolished and their children murdered in front of their eyes. The United Nations has condemned Israel on many, many occasions, and the International Court of Justice has ruled the Israeli settlements are illegal - built on stolen Palestinian land, and those that lived through the horror of apartheid in South Africa have described Israel as practising a much worse form of apartheid than thing they suffered under. And yet despite all this, the oppression continues, nothing changes.

It is now left for us ordinary people to put pressure on Israel by boycotting its goods, by boycotting the fruits and vegetables it grows on land stolen from the Palestinians. It is in this endeavour that I humbly urge you, as your customer, please do not help oppress the Palestinians by selling Israeli goods, in particular please do not sell Israeli dates this Ramadan. Every year just before Ramadan, Israel especially targets small retailers who serve the Muslim community in to stocking its dates. The included leaflet lists which brands of dates are Israeli and should be avoided, it also includes details of the suffering Palestinians undergo in the production of these dates. This Ramadan please think of the Palestinians.

Thank you

sign name and include street & townsign name and include street & townsign name and include street & townsign name and include street & townsign name and include street & town

PS As your customers, we will be frequenting your store, please do not disappoint - thank you

The idea is for activists to arrange a Boycott Israel awareness event in their community where they show one of the videos, give out the leaflets and ask people to sign the letters addressed to local shops serving the community (print out only one letter per shop which everyone signs like a petition).

If you do initiate a Boycott Israeli Dates campaign in your community please do contact us via the feedback form (on the left column of this page) and share your experience with us.

This Ramadan there is no excuse for any Muslim in the world to open their fast with an Israeli date.

"The United States is 4.6% of the worlds people but still controls 50% of the worlds wealth and has a military that spends more than every other country in the world combined. I see this moment, as a moment that is very dangerous.. which is to say that the United States is a declining world economic power, similarly a declining political power, but what isn't declining is the military power. As you know from the 20th century that's a dangerous combination - a declining economic and political power but an overwhelmingly dominant military power. I think the national security state that we've seen organised since 9-11 in an unbelievably rapid way, which owes in no small part to Israel I must say, is a particular [example]."